North Koreans Have Been Banned From Laughing, Drinking and Shopping For 11 Days—Here's Why

The citizens of North Korea have been banned from laughing, consuming alcoholic beverages, shopping for groceries, and engaging in leisure activities for 10 days to mark the 10^th death anniversary of former Supreme Leader Kim Jong Il. Any violation of the ban during the 11-day mourning period will invite serious consequences, a resident of the border city of Sinuiju told Radio Free Asia. 

"In the past, many people who were caught drinking or being intoxicated during the mourning period were arrested and treated as ideological criminals. They were taken away and never seen again," the source revealed. "Even if your family member dies during the mourning period, you are not allowed to cry out loud, and the body must be taken out after it's over. People cannot even celebrate their own birthdays if they fall within the mourning period," the resident added. Another source claimed that the police imposed a similar mandate at the beginning of the month to ensure an "appropriate mood" for the mourning period.

To commemorate the late Kim Jong II, the East-Asian country has planned a slew of events including a public display of his photography and art, a concert, and an exhibition of the ‘Kimjongilia’, a flower named after the leader. Kim Jong II died of a heart attack at the age of 69, on December 17 in 2011, and is succeeded by his youngest son Kim Jong-Un. 

Every year since his father's death, Kim Jong-Un pays respects at his memorial—at a mausoleum where the embalmed body of Kim Jong Il lies in the state along with that of Kim Il Sung. Generally a 10-day mourning period, this year it has been extended to 11 days since it's his 10th death anniversary. In his 10 years at the helm of North Korea since his father's death, Kim Jong-Un has secured the same absolute power enjoyed by Kim Jong Il and Kim Il Sung, the current leader's grandfather and state founder.